caldera cone modification?

[Jeff Cadorin]

I am looking to lighten my gear some more. I absolutely love my cooking setup but have a little room for improvement. My current kit is a BPL trapper mug (475ml) with a matching caldera cone. I use the little esbit holder with it and its great. I have been away for a bit and noticed the new ti-tri setups they have, very slick. It got me thinking about mine and how I use that big clear container that weighs as much as the rest of the kit to hold it all safe and sound. Now that nested kit is slick and am thinking about cutting mine down to make it nest in the mug.

Putting the mug into the cone I have 3 1/4 inches to the ground from the bottom. I didnt measure yet but I am guessing that little esbit tab holder sits about a half inch off the ground. That tells me I have roughly 2 3/4 inches from the bottom of my mug to the bottom of the esbit tab.

The trapper mug is 3 3/4 tall.

I can cut the top part of the cone to 3 5/8ths and nest it in the mug. I'll modify or make an esbit holder so that it sits on the ground and I will have to leave the mug sitting atleast an inch inside the top to stabalize it. Looks like that will give me about 2 5/8ths clearence. So roughly identical to the existing setup.

Now for some questions(and sorry, I will try to add pics in the next few days)

The bottom of the cone has 2 holes in it for air flow, should I copy just those 2 holes or should I drill more?

Am I going to lose to much heat in that thin walled mug by having it raised out of the cone so much?(original design the top lip sits flush on the top of the cone)

If I played around with gadgets to raise the bottom of the cone for more air could I use wood with this setup?

Thanks
Jeff

[d k]

"Am I going to lose to much heat in that thin walled mug by having it raised out of the cone so much?(original design the top lip sits flush on the top of the cone)"

You could try making one of aluminum flashing and compare boiling times.

[Jeff Cadorin]

Great idea DK. Maybe just raising the mug out and lifting the esbit tab will give me a good enough idea. Is there an ideal distance esbit should be from a mug/pot?

[d k]

I don't have any experience with esbit, but I'm sure someone else can come in with that answer.

[Bob Gross]

"Is there an ideal distance esbit should be from a mug/pot?"

We've discussed this recently.

Basically, not exactly.

There is one ideal distance for boiling speed, and another one for fuel efficiency, but they all vary due to water temperature, water volume, wind, cook pot shape, and other factors.

If you want to see what the Esbit company thinks is the ideal distance, notice the Esbit wing stove and where that puts the Esbit cube from the cook pot bottom.

–B.G.–

[Jameson Tisch]

Esbit height: http://thru-hiker.com/articles/esbit_stove_height.php

I'd also recommend checking out the Esbit thread over in gear talks. Lot of interesting info there.

I'd also reference the thread below since you want to do basically the same thing.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=72925

Good luck!

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

What I do with the caldera cone instead of that plastic container is I bring a plastic coffee mug and stuff it in there. About 2 or 3 inches sticks out the top but it seems it protects the caldera cone well enough. As long as I'm going to bring a whole cook kit I may as well enjoy a cup of coffee in an insulated mug so I can linger over it. You could also just roll it up and stuff something inside it, like your fuel bottle, an extra plastic bottle, maybe even stuff some extra socks and hats. Secure with rubber bands or hair ties and it should be protected well enough depending on where you put it in your pack.

[Stephen Parks]

If you use a cup, here is an option for packing the longer caldera cones. Find a tapered plastic cup and cut it down until it is a snug fit inside your mug.

[Author]

Posts